UX design case study
HealthBridge
Bridging the Gap in Pediatric Care Coordination
Caring for a child's health often leads to administrative burnout as records and appointments become scattered and stressful. Managing multiple practitioners, schools, and insurance providers requires a level of organization that most families struggle to maintain manually.
My Goals
Support Caregivers
Help caregivers cut down on admin work by bringing scattered health info into one simple, easy-to-use place.
Improve Information Flow
Make ti easier for parents, practitioners and schools to share information so everyone stays on the same page.
Enable Proactive Care
Turn complex medical histories into clear, useful insights so caregivers can act early and support better care.
Research Insights
While conducting user interviews with parents and caregivers, I gained a deeper understanding of the many pain points they face, often leaving them feeling stranded and overwhelmed while managing an already important and meticulous task.
The research revealed that issues such as fragmented systems, multiple logins, and accessibility barriers are often the main reasons caregivers feel unprepared and lack a clear understanding of how to care for their child.
This can lead to more complex psychological effects, including low confidence, self-doubt, and avoidance of similar tasks.
I developed HealthBridge to streamline medical management and document sharing through a calm, caregiver-centric interface.
Insight 1 - Fragmented Systems :
Parents and caregivers often have to use multiple portals to access health records. This fragmentation increases cognitive load.
The solution should centralize records and appointments in one clear dashboard.
Insight 2 - Time Pressure:
Busy caregivers struggle to manage appointments efficiently while balancing other responsibilities.
The design should prioritize speed, reminders, and streamlined navigation.
Insight 3 - Accessibility Barriers:
Some users face difficulty navigating cluttered interfaces due to limited accessibility support.
The platform should include adjustable text, high contrast, simplified layouts and integrated text-to-speech functionality.
Competitive Audit Summary
The audit evaluated existing digital health portals and mobile tools to identify where current systems fail pediatric caregivers during high-stress care transitions.
Landscape at a Glance
- Standardized appointment booking and basic telehealth integration.
- Established laboratory result visualization in mobile-friendly formats.
- Secure messaging features between patients and direct providers.
Key Gaps
- Lack of school-specific documentation workflows (IEPs, sports physicals).
- Highly clinical language that increases caregiver anxiety and cognitive load.
- Poor multi-stakeholder sharing (access for teachers, therapists, or co-parents).
- Minimal accessibility support for users in high-stress, mobile environments.
Opportunity for HealthBridge
- Caregiver-Centered Ecosystem: Prioritizing the administrative tasks and mental health of the primary coordinator.
- School & Documentation Workflows: Built-in triggers for non-clinical record sharing required for educational compliance.
- Accessibility-First Design: Reassurance-driven UI that remains clear and usable during pediatric crises.
Main Persona: Alissa, Caregiver & Advocate
Alissa is a legally responsible caregiver for her niece. She juggles work, family and complex medical paperwork, and often feels overwhelmed by inaccessible digital tools.
Age: 45
Role: Aunt & legal caregiver
Location: Toronto, Canada
Context: Manages pediatric appointments, records and school forms
Goals
- Access health information independently
- Manage appointments from home
- Feel confident using digital tools
Frustrations
- Small text and low contrast
- Too many buttons and cluttered screens
- Lack of clear support for screen readers
Needs
- Adjustable text size and high contrast
- Simple, step-by-step document workflows
- Clear guidance when submitting school forms
Alissa is the primary persona and the inspiration behind many of HealthBridge’s core features. She represents a range of caregivers, each with different needs and pain points. Her role is to capture as many of these realities as possible while still feeling like a real, distinct person with her own story and voice.
User Flow: Add a New Document
To simplify Alissa's document management and help her stay organized for future appointments, I implemented a clear flow for securing new records. By centralizing uploads within the documents section, caregivers like Alissa can ensure critical health information is preserved and ready to be shared with providers in just a few taps.
- Launch HealthBridge: Alissa opens the app to her main dashboard.
- Open Document Vault: She selects the 'Documents' icon to view all medical records.
- Upload File: She selects 'Add New Document' floating action button and chooses to upload a PDF or scan a physical document.
- Confirm Details: The app prompts her to review the document category (e.g., Lab Results) and date.
- Save to Vault: Alissa taps 'Save,' and the document is instantly secured and indexed in the vault.
This user flow illustrates the essential steps a caregiver takes to upload and securely save a new medical document to the Document vault.
Digital Wireframes
The core HealthBridge wireframes focus on simplifying complex tasks for caregivers. These screens show streamlined flows for dashboard navigation, document management, school deadline tracking, and contact organization.
Although they represent my first pass at the app, the wireframes already capture the key features and overall structure that remain in the final prototype. My goal was to make the experience feel familiar and simple for most users, an app that doesn’t need to be taught.
High-fidelity Mockups
These high-fidelity mockups showcase the polished user interface, illustrating essential functionalities and the cohesive visual identity developed to support the caregiver journey.
Device Mockup created from <a href="https://deviceframes.com/templates/google-pixel-6">Google Pixel 6 mockups</a>
The overall visual theme of HealthBridge is clean, modern, and intuitive.
A simple layout, and clear hierarchy make key actions easy to spot at a glance. The light mode palette combines white, light teal, and soft greys to create a calm, trustworthy feel that supports focus without overwhelming users.
Device Mockup created from <a href="https://deviceframes.com/templates/google-pixel-6">Google Pixel 6 mockups</a>
A glimpse into dark mode
The dark theme of HealthBridge is designed for low‑light environments and extended use, keeping the interface comfortable and accessible.
Deep teal tones echo the light theme’s palette, creating a cohesive visual identity across modes. Soft greys and teal accents maintain a clear hierarchy and highlight key actions, while typography stays crisp and legible.
This version preserves the clean, modern feel of the app while reducing glare and eye strain during evening or on‑the‑go use.
Key Takeaways
Building this app taught me so much about how good design can actually help real families. Here is a look at my growth as a designer through this project.
User First
I talked to real caregivers to understand their daily struggles. It was eye-opening to see how simple research can turn deep frustrations into helpful features.
Better Flow
I practiced taking messy medical info and organizing it into easy screens. I learned how to keep things simple so users don't feel overwhelmed by the app.
Accessibility
I made sure to use high contrast and clear text. I am learning that design should work for everyone, especially for people using their phones in a rush.
Just Iterate
I learned that the first idea is rarely the best one. I kept testing my designs and fixing things based on feedback until the flow felt natural and easy.
This project showed me that UX is all about listening. I am excited to keep learning how to build tools that make life a little bit easier for people.